14 policemen injured as locals fight back anti-encroachment drive in Nankana Sahib

At least two officials, 14 policemen and a civilian were injured during a clash as Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) launched an anti-encroachment drive in Nankana Sahib on Saturday.

According to police, the operation was launched to vacate eight kanals of land and was met with violent resistance from the locals.

It was later suspended as the police and Auqaf workers were outnumbered by the protestors.

Agitated locals gathered against the anti-encroachment operation in a village near Kot Sant Ram bypass and started protesting against the ETPB.

According to details, the crowd also resorted to aerial firing and stone pelting to force the administration to halt the operation injuring the policemen. A man was injured as police resorted to baton charge and aerial firing. The protesters set the ETPB office on fire and two of its vehicles, property worth millions and other records were gutted.

The police officers and ETPB members had to seek refuge inside a Sikh Gurdwara during the firing incident.

Railway Road Bazaar was shut down by traders due to the tense situation. Demonstrators also set the office of the Auqaf Department on fire and demolished one of its outer walls.

The protesters said that no one stopped when they raised the structures, and now when they have spent millions of rupees on constructions, their properties were being razed.

Auqaf Department Chairman Siddique ul Farooq alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) MPA Zulqarnain Dogar was backing the violent protests. “MPA Zulqarnain Haider and Councilor Chaudhry Riaz are land grabbers and Chaudhry Riaz is henchman of Haider. These groups have illegally occupied 45 kanals of land worth Rs40 million,” he alleged.

Farooq said that he himself narrowly escaped the firing and his car was also damaged by the protesters. Farooq further alleged that MPA Chaudhry Riaz’s men were responsible for the clashes. He said that cases will be registered against them for interfering in state affairs.

“The land is owned by the trust and will be retrieved from them,” he added. I will talk to the Punjab chief minister and IG Punjab on the issue and inform them about the wrongdoings of the land grabbing group, he added. Dogar, on the other hand, denied the accusations and urged Farooq to resolve the issue amicably.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the unrest in Nanakana Sahib and asked the administration and police to submit a report.

All possible steps should be taken to ensure law and order in the district, he said, adding that nobody would be allowed to take law into hands.